


Dark Wings Rising

by Amari



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Bird Hybrid Au, M/M, Multi, joelay - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-16
Updated: 2015-03-16
Packaged: 2018-03-18 03:26:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3554309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amari/pseuds/Amari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before they could process what had happened, they heard a bang above them. All chins snapped to the ceiling as boards began to snap. The drywall cracked and a black mass crashed through the ceiling right in the middle of them all. Feathers and dust scattered like the screams that had erupted from their throats.</p><p>“What the fuck was that?”  <br/>“The fuck is going on!?”<br/>“Holyshitholyshit.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dark Wings Rising

The winds howled angrily, rattling the walls and windows of the buildgs the bird people had nestled themselves into. They cuddled into corners, trying to get themselves away from the rain and branches that clawed at the windows, begging to get in. It had been a long time since a storm like this had descended upon their village, and they weren’t the most prepared. Even in the safest of buildings, the main hall, creaked and moaned under the weight of nature. The birds inside huddled together, blankets covering them and their wings, just in case a window shattered.

In another room of the hall, about ten other birds sat a little more relaxed then their brethren elsewhere. It wasn’t a matter of age and experience making them wiser toward the storm, it was more that they didn’t give a shit, but felt safer in this room than in their own homes.

Geoff, the essential leader of the tiny flock and red-tailed hawk, was standing next to the window. A tree outside gave way to the wind, ripping a loud crack in the air, and crashed to the ground. He stood unmoved by the action.

He whistled, “I would not want to be caught outside right now.”

“You think anyone would be stupid enough to go outside?” Michael, a Red Kite asked with a hint of grumble to his voice.

“You never know. People like to try and brave the winds.” Jack the Martial Eagle said from the other side of the room.

Gavin the golden eagle was nudging Michael’s shoulder while Lindsay the Cardinal was pushing him away. “That’s dumb.”

“Not as dumb as you are.” Lindsay teased, running her fingers through Gavin’s messy hair.

Gavin squawked at the comment.

Ryan, who had been spinning in his chair spoke up, “You think everyone is okay?”

Ray stood up from his spot on the floor and stretched, expanding his scraggly black crow wings to a width that didn’t smack anyone. “I’m sure we would have heard something if happened.”

A flash of lightning illuminated the room, nearly blinding the birds. The following thunder shook the entire building.

“Holy shit!” They collectively exclaimed like the flock they were.

Before they could process what had happened, they heard a bang above them. All chins snapped to the ceiling as boards began to snap. The drywall cracked and a black mass crashed through the ceiling right in the middle of them all. Feathers and dust scattered like the screams that had erupted from their throats.

“What the fuck was that?”    
“The fuck is going on!?”  
“Holyshitholyshit.”

Geoff’s commanding voice broke the panic, “Alright settle down. Jack, Ryan, go get tarps and tape, we need to get this hole covered. Lindsay, Michael, Gavin, go get first aid shit NOW! Ray, help me help the fucker that just fell through our roof.”

Ray was in the middle of a coughing fit, and hadn’t even processed that someone had literally crashed through their roof. Wiping away the dust from his eyes, he saw the figure. Rather, a pile of rubble that had some gigantic wings and an arm sticking out of it. While everyone but he and Geoff ducked out of the room, he dove for the pile. The rain was pouring in the room, drops so large that even in the minimal time he spent uncovering the person in the rubble caused him to get soaked. At one point Geoff stretched his wings over them, providing a little cover.

Ray wasn’t sure how to go about removing the boards that buried the man. He went for the lighter things as Geoff chucked the pointier wood off the stranger’s body. Eventually all that was left was the stuff underneath him. Thankfully, it looked like nothing had pierced the body, but an arm was definitely bent the wrong direction and one of the wings was caught underneath as well. Unfortunately, the victim wasn’t conscious.

The stranger appeared to be a man that they had never seen before. He had large black wings incredibly similar to Ray’s other than his primaries being larger. More than likely, he was a Raven. Black hair on his head complimented his wings, a luxury not all people had. His body was on the larger side. “Toned” would be a way to describe him. For an unconscious man, Ray decided that he was pretty attractive.

Lindsay, Gavin, and Michael came rushing back with medical equipment and started cleaning all the cuts and scratches he had obtained by crashing. They moved him carefully, toweling off everything before practically dousing it in alcohol and bandaging it. Ray was thankful that he didn’t wake up in the middle of it. Especially as he was being hauled onto the couch. Ray winced at how painful that would be with the apparently fractured arm.

While they put the man in a rested position, Jack and Ryan returned and quickly patched the hole, their wings awkwardly flapping in the small room. Ray was forced to the corner, away from everyone. Soon enough, everything died down; the only thing happening then was Lindsay trying to find someone that knew what to do about broken arms.

Ray slid to the floor, positioning himself the same as their guest before the party. “Well. That was exciting.”

Geoff sighed and ran a hand through his hair, “Yeah. That… that was. And now we just sit and wait for the goddamn storm to pass so we can go get someone to cast his arm.”

“If the doctor isn’t dead, that is.” Gavin piped in. Michael swatted him, earning more squawks.

“So.” Jack started, “Does anyone recognize this guy?”

“Nope.” Was the general consensus. Not a single person, even those elsewhere in the building recognized the man either. A total stranger without a story.

Ryan crossed his arms, “The only thing we can do is wait until he wakes up.”

That’s what they did. They waited. After an hour had passed, the storm had let up. The rain had stopped its merciless beating, and the wind calmed its demonic rage. The only thing that remained were the grey clouds that refused to clear, as if they were claiming victory over a land. Ray figured he’d rather have the clouds than a bright sun mocking them all. In the calm, Lindsay, Michael, and Gavin decided to bow out to see if they could go help people with wreckage. Ryan and Jack left as well, deciding their muscle could be put to good use, again leaving Geoff and Ray alone.

“When he wakes up, I want you to take care of him.” Geoff stated, more as a command than a suggestion.

“What?” Ray spat, “Why? There are a fuckload of other people that could take care of him.”

“Yeah, but he’s a Raven, just like you.”

“I’m a crow, Geoff.”

“Close enough.”

“No. Not close enough.” Ray argued, “There’s a pretty good chance that he’s probably an asshole considering he wasn’t smart enough to not fly in the rain. Flying in a storm is a pretty asshole thing to do.”

“Don’t care.” Geoff said, “You’re gonna take care of this asshole. You’re probably the best case for him anyway.”

“You don’t know that!” Ray protested, “He’s not even awake yet!”

The man stirred, shutting Ray up instantly. He groaned a few times and then hissed, “AH! Fuck!” His eyes snapped open and he tried sitting up but both the pain in his wing and arm granted no movement. “Fuck. Fuck. Shit. Fuck.” He lifted his head and then dropped it right back down, frustrated.

“Hey.” Geoff barked, “Stay still. You’re beat to shit.”

“Yeah.” The man grunted; face creasing with pain, “I can feel it. The fuck happened to me? Where am I? Who the fuck are you guys?”

“Well, aren’t  _you_  nice to people that basically saved your life?” Ray snarked, folding his arms across his chest.

“Ray shut up.” Geoff snapped. “Look, you, for whatever goddamn reason, were flying in the storm, you crashed through our roof. “ Geoff pointed to the tarp duct taped to the ceiling, “And in the process wrecked our place, broke your arm, and probably permafucked your wing.”

“Brilliant.” The man sighed. “I’m Joel, for the record. Sorry I fucked your place, thanks for taking care of me. I’ll do what I can to pay you back, since it looks like I won’t be leaving this place anytime soon.”

“Alright,” Geoff said, “I’m Geoff, basically the leader of this flock. Most of my people are out at the moment. The one that’s left is Ray.”

“Hey.” Ray chipped in.

Joel tried to nod at them, but could barely move with how sore his body was. His face scrunched and his pearly teeth were on display if only for a moment. Ray thought it looked like there were too many in his mouth. Small, crammed together, but somehow still perfect. Hopefully Joel would turn down the attitude, so Ray wouldn’t have to punch him in his perfect teeth.

Before Ray could settle on internally dissing on the man he had just met, the doctor finally came in, followed by those that had left to fetch him. Ray took this opportunity to slip outside the room and avoid any further attention to him in an already crowded room.

He clicked his tongue. Why did he have to be the one to take care of the Raven? He couldn’t tell Geoff no, but the irritation was already boiling in his gut. Ravens were never good news, especially to crows. Regular humans saw crows as a sign of bad luck, well, ravens were far worse. That said, he did feel a little bad for the older bird, knowing that there would be a remote chance he could never fly again.

Geoff opened the door and eyed Ray again, solidifying his certainty in his decision. “Take him home. I got word from Jack and Ryan that your house is fine. Have him lean on you.”

“No!” Ray argued, and was about to say more when Geoff’s eyes narrowed him down. “…fine.”

 Ray stepped back into the room, where Joel had been put on his feet. Leaning on Lindsay with his right arm, he looked fragile, like a wet piece of paper. If pulled the wrong direction he’d be torn to bits and that would be the end of him. His left was set in a makeshift cast. They met eyes, caramel warmth to black bark, wary of each other.

Joel squinted his eyes, and pushed off Lindsay, “I’m told I’ll be staying with you.”

 Ray nodded. “That would be correct, sir.”

Joel forced a smile on his lips, not bothering to hide the creeping tension between them. “That’s awfully nice of you.”

Ray returned a tight-lipped grin, “I’d be the best to take care of you. It’ll be no big deal.”

The two birds made their way out of the Main Hall and out the front door one heavily dragged step at a time. Outside, they both were witness to the broken branches and downed trees that had been caused by the storm. They were both silent as they walked through the village, trying to ignore the stares of villagers that were watching them carefully. The situation was strange on two fronts. It wasn’t normal for Ray to be seen walking through the village, and there was a handsome stranger on his shoulder. Of course nosey people were going to stare, and not a single one of them would bother offering to assist.

After what felt like a good half hour, they found their way to Ray’s little house. Like many houses it was built into a tree, but his was on the ground and not hoisted high into the sky. Ray pushed through the front door, and carefully led Joel inside in a way that wouldn’t bash his injured wing against the frame.

Ray’s house was bare bones. A living room and kitchen tied together, kitchen cabinets with only two sets of dining ware, a few glasses, and two chairs that leaned up against the countertops. The living room had a couch that faced a decent-sized television. The walls had a few pictures of him at work with his friends, but nothing else remarkable.

“Nice place.” Remarked Joel while standing in the middle of the living room. His wingspan tha doubled Ray’s seemed too big for the home even when folded. “Oddly small for a crow.”

Ray chose to ignore the dig. “Thanks. It’s where you’ll be staying for the next few months or so, so I would get used to it pretty fast if I were you.” Ray moved to the kitchen and pulled out the glasses, pouring water into both of them.

Silence once again fell between them. Ray handed Joel the glass, and he drank from it warily. Ray perched himself on one of the dining chairs, and Joel sat uncomfortably on the couch.

“Why you?” Joel suddenly asked. The venom behind the question wasn’t veiled. “You’re a crow. I’m not.”

“No shit.” Ray mumbled back before he thought it through. “It wasn’t my choice. I do what Geoff tells me to.”

Joel cocked an eyebrow, “Perfect. Nothing like getting stuck with a crow.”

“Look man.” Ray spat, raising his wings as he grew irritated, “I understand your deal, but I haven’t done a goddamn thing yet, and you’re already shitting on me like I poisoned your birthday cake. I haven’t said shit about you being a raven, and honestly, I am not looking forward to the next few months, especially if you’re going to treat me like this.”

Joel simply shrugged, as if he had said nothing wrong.  

Ray let out an exasperated sigh and decided against adding fuel to Joel’s fire. “Okay. How about we work something out. Is there any way with your arm and wing that you can sleep on the couch? I don’t mind giving up my bed if I have to.”

Joel’s face fell as the realization hit him that he would have to sleep somehow. With his wing bent as it was and his arm in a cast, it wasn’t going to be any easy task.

“Obviously I’ll take the bed.” Joel said.

Ray shook his head at Joel’s tone and headed toward his bedroom in the back. His room was as bare bones as everything else. A nightstand to hold various objects, a mirror that hung over his dresser and a king-sized bed with a navy blue comforter. He face planted into the softness of his sheets, getting a feel for the last time in who knows how long. His bed was where he spent a good amount of time when he wasn’t at work, and it was going to be the thing he missed the most. He pulled the sheets over his back and rolled into a blanket burrito. While lying in silence, he heard the tv flip on. Turns out the Raven was already making himself comfortable.

Ray groaned and pushed himself off the bed. Picking out some extra blankets from his closet he would need for the next few months, he wandered his way back to the living room. Joel made no conscious recognition of the young man, even as he plopped the stack of blankets next to him. Ray chose not to say anything until he plopped back on the stool.

 “So…” Ray started, still not getting Joel’s attention, “I think that  _maybe if we are going to be living together, we should know something about each other._ ” After all, it was probably something they should have been doing before, but Ray had never been in a situation like this before. Was it okay to ask questions? Was he even going to answer them? Would he drop his huge raging asshole persona for a second to answer the questions properly?

“What do you wanna know?” Joel responded, flipping the channel.

Ray pushed his back against the counter, and propped feet up on the space of the seat, and rested his elbows on his knees. “Well, for starters, who are you?”

“My name’s Joel. I’m a raven. You knew that.”

Ray shook his head, “No no. Who are you? What do you do? Where are you from? Age?”

“I’m just a guy. My job isn’t one that will be crushed if I’m gone for a few months. I’m from Castara, the city to the east. I’m 43. Anything else?”

“Yeah.” Ray said, raising his eyebrows, “Why were you flying in the middle of a goddamn storm? Couldn’t it have waited?”

Joel narrowed his eyes. He put the remote down and found interest in the floor. “No. But it doesn’t matter anymore. I had to get there today.”

 “Why?” Ray asked, tilting his head.

Joel grit his teeth, “How about we consider this a plot hole that doesn’t get discussed ever again? It was one of those opportunities in life that comes once and only once and if you miss it, it’s over. Gone. And it doesn’t matter.”

The chill in Joel’s voice sunk into Ray’s skin like icicles. Ray hugged his knees, feeling abashed like a child that had been scolded. “Okay.” Ray didn’t want to apologize though, despite bad he felt for diving too deep already. “Well… uh, what’s your diet, just so I know.”

Joel shrugged, “Probably the same shit as you. As long as you don’t starve me.”

The conversation was frustrating in that it wasn’t a conversation at all. Every other question Ray tried asking resulted in a curt result. Really, he should have given up, but the man was going to be living with him, he had to make sure he wasn’t a murderer or something like that. Sure, Ray tried to chalk it up to Joel being thrust into a situation he wouldn’t want to be in with absolutely no choice in the matter, and on top of that he was a raven, but it didn’t excuse his level of assholery. Their first full conversation felt like he was getting punched in the face with every word. He wanted to call Geoff and make him reconsider his decision because he wasn’t sure that he was capable of taking care of someone.

By the time they finished talking, the only thing they had really sorted out was that Joel would try to help out around the house while Ray was at work in exchange for taking care of him. Ray would get shirts from Jack and Ryan, and the majority of money Ray spent would be paid back someday. It wasn’t going to be a fun college roommate situation. They weren’t supposed to be friends.

But it would be so much easier if they could be.

\--

The first month passed by achingly slow. Joel often found himself in pain he didn’t know how to deal with. He’d groan for hours at the slightest movement, and instead of sitting still to alleviate the pain, he’d push himself far behind his limits. Sometimes he’d flex his wing, and he’d end up crippled on the ground, putting weight on his broken arm. Ray only happened to be there to help the old bird off the floor. Joel, ungrateful, would often swat at Ray and cuss him out for touching him. “I was fine.” He’d spit.

Thank Christ he wasn’t a picky eater, because Ray would have snapped if he had to make specialized meals for him. When Joel had said he didn’t want to be starved, Ray was expecting him to turn down food for his “exquisite raven tastes.” But whenever Ray did cook something up, Joel would eat it. Wouldn’t thank him, but he’d eat it.

Joel proved to be a crabby old man. He couldn’t sleep at night and often threw that in Ray’s direction, more specifically the fact that he was a crow.

“Where are your crow buddies?” Joel asked one time as Ray was doing dishes.

Ray put a plate under some water. “Crow buddies?” He asked back.

“Yeah. Crow buddies. You know, don’t you crows usually hang out in a nasty gang of sorts?”

“I’m the only crow in the village. I get along with everyone I need to just fine.” Ray answered. “Unlike you, who I’ve heard is being snappy with the neighbors that are only trying to help.”

Joel turned away and didn’t say anything further.

\--

The second month was a little bit nicer. Joel was able to move around more frequently. His wing wasn’t fully healed, but it had far more flexibility than before. His arm, however, was still not easily moved. The doctor told him a few more weeks, and honestly, with how bad he had broken it, he was lucky to be a bird person with accelerated healing. Humans would have needed some sort of surgery to put the bones back in place, and all sorts of medical nonsense that often went over Ray’s head. But because Joel’s arm wasn’t healed, he couldn’t fly.

His restlessness turned into wandering curiosity. Since he could sleep at night, he had general ability to do things during the day, and that meant snooping out Ray’s house from top to bottom when Ray wasn’t there. Just as Joel didn’t share much of himself, Ray didn’t share anything in return. But it was far more obvious what made Ray. He liked being neat and tidy, nothing on the floor, clean dishes, clothes promptly cleaned and put away, and even cords wrapped up nicely. But where he came from and all that wasn’t known to Joel.

Information about Ray, however, wasn’t what Joel was looking for the next time they spoke. Ray had walked in the door when he was confronted by the bigger bird.

“Hey. Where’s your shiny shit?” Joel didn’t so much ask, but demanded.

Ray stared blankly, “My… what?”

“Your shiny shit.” Joel repeated, “You know, all crows and have a pile of shiny shit or small useless objects they have affection for.”

Ray scratched the back of his hear, “Uh… Joel… I don’t have one.”

“Bullshit.”

“Honest! I don’t know why you keep comparing me to usual crows when I keep telling you I’m not one!”

  Joel pressed on, “You have to have a pile of shiny shit. It’s literally something you shouldn’t be able to fight about yourself. It’s in your crow nature.”

Ray shook his head and shoved past Joel to get him out of his way. Joel followed too close for comfort. His nose was practically bumping the back of Ray’s neck.

“Jesus, what is into you today?” Ray shouted, nudging the old bird back a few inches.

Joel stood up straight and blinked a few times. “I…” He appeared to have snapped out of a strange trance, and a blush scribbled across his face. “I started obsessing over the thought of your stash, and I couldn’t find it so—“

Ray cut him off, “You were snooping around my house looking for ‘shiny shit?’”

Joel jammed a thumb in his mouth and flexed his wings in embarrassment. Ray wanted to yell, but it wouldn’t accomplish anything. If anything, it would make the older bird search harder, or be more stubborn about something else entirely. Ray rubbed at his face in frustration. “Please, for the love of god, get it in your head that I’m not like all the other crows you’ve seemed to have met in your lifetime. Good lord, as irritated as I am with the fact that you’re a Raven, I don’t let it get in the way of treating you past that. I would really appreciate it if you maybe did the same for me. Especially considering you are still living with me for a few more weeks.”

“Yeah… Yeah…” Joel mumbled more to himself than Ray. “Yeah… I… yeah. Got it.” Joel shut down completely, shrinking inside himself, pulling his wings tight against his spine and stepping back. Any semblance of playfulness that had emerged on this day shriveled up and died in an instant. Joel went back to the couch and sat down, turning on the TV and turning off his mind.

Ray felt bad.

\--

The following week showed Joel perking up again. The doctor had come by to check on his arm. He was given a brace, and told not to overdo it. Which in showing Joel fashion, meant he was going to purposely test his limits and overdo it. Ray came home from work to see that the big bird had dusted the house from bottom to top, had the windows wide open, everything vacuumed and he was about to take some of the rugs out for a good beating.

Ray stood in the doorway with his mouth open.

“What did I do to deserve such kindness?” Ray said with skepticism.

Joel, with a rug over his bad arm, shrugged, “Ah. I just felt energetic since I can actually use my arm. I’m going to start practicing flying in a day or two.”

Ray gave Joel a sincere smile, “That’s great! Just don’t scare anyone with your gigantic wing span.”

Joel laughed. It was the first time Ray heard him laugh, and it tickled against his skin. The bird had be brooding for so long about things Ray didn’t understand, and hearing him laugh was entering new territory altogether. Ray felt the smile tugging at his cheeks as he laughed in return.

“Look, I’ve seen some of the birds here; I’m tiny compared to them. And yes, that makes you puny, you tiny tiny crow.” Joel teased. And the reference to Ray being a crow wasn’t filled with venom, and it threw Ray off.

“It’s nice to see you happy.” Ray blurted without thinking.

Joel’s gaze dropped, but the smile stayed on his face, “I suppose it is.”

The conversation didn’t continue down that strain, instead Ray helped him out with the rest of the cleaning. Ray would get the things Joel couldn’t reach above or below. Joel was tasked with the kitchen, and Ray went about cleaning his room. The very same room he hadn’t slept in in two months. It His bed had been made neatly with no folds in the comforter, and Ray appreciated the care Joel put into it. The room smelled like a wonderful mix of Joel and himself. It made him cautious of opening the windows, because he was afraid the nice scent would leave the room. Instead, he lifted a pillow to find that there was a gold locket underneath. The locket itself was something to behold. Large, almost medallion-like in size, with ornate details that swirled over themselves. The vines of gold interlaced serpentine shapes, around a central heart shape figure that was patina black. Ray checked over his shoulder to see where Joel was and reached for the locket. Fumbling for a bit with the tight clasp, he managed to get it open.

He gasped at the emptiness inside.

No pictures, no markings, nothing was inside. The locket felt heavy in his hand, and he was unsure of where the feeling came from. The darkness inside the locket pulled his own heart down deep inside, because he knew that it must have some meaning to Joel. Maybe it held something before, and now it didn’t, or he was waiting for something to fill it with. Ray didn’t know, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know. He closed the locket with a snap and put it back under the pillow, exactly where it had been left before.

Out of sight, but certainly not out of mind.

“Hey, Ray.” Joel’s cheery voice came from behind him, making Ray jump out of his skin. Ray’s wings flapped a bit, knocking a few things off the dresser. He was embarrassed, his face turned red as Joel tried to apologize through chuckles. “Oh god, I just wanted to tell you that I wanted to make dinner.”  

Ray shoved Joel through the doorway and back into the kitchen, where they proceeded to have a joking argument over what to eat. Ray ended up helping halfway through, mostly because Joel was making a mess of everything, and partly because Joel’s wrist started acting up. They ate dinner, talking about how Ray’s workday was, and how Joel managed to have a small chat with the neighbors for once. Maybe it had taken Joel nearly three months to warm up to people, or maybe he finally got over himself. Whatever it was, Ray didn’t really want to question it because he was honestly enjoying himself. Not to mention he remembered exactly how good-looking Joel was. He swallowed that thought with some food, hoping that thought wouldn’t come back again.

When they finished their food, Ray thanked him. Joel stopped mid-chew to look at him. The thought of being thanked hadn’t come across Joel’s mind, it seemed.

“Uh… yeah. Sure. We made it together though.” Joel tried to argue.

Ray shook his head, “Nah. You said you would, and you did. So there. Thank you.”

Joel accepted it.

\--

“So, how’s that old man doing?” Michael asked while Ray was working on some paperwork. Michael himself was screwing around on a computer waiting for some things to render.

Ray looked up and craned his neck, “Joel?”

“Yeah. You haven’t complained about him in a few days. Is he gone, or did you finally duct tape him to a chair?”

It didn’t go over Ray’s head that everyone else in the small room seemed to have dropped into their conversation. The curiosity must have been bubbling between coworkers, and Michael was the one to finally break the question.

So nosy. “I don’t know what happened to him, but his attitude changed once he got the sling off and was given a brace instead. He’s not asswipe all of a sudden.” Ray said, signing his name off one piece of paper and flipping to the next sheet.

“That’s good, right?” Gavin piped in.

“Yeah, but I want to know  _why_  he changed attitudes, but there’s no way in hell I’m going to ask” Ray sighed.

This time Geoff butted in, “Yeah, I don’t blame you for that.”

“How about we test his attitude?” Michael suggested.

Ray put his pen down, “What do you mean by that?”

“It’s been three months since we’ve hung out after work, how about Gav, Lindsay and I come over for some movies and games?”

Ray pondered. It was true that since he’d been so busy with Joel he hadn’t had time for himself. Since Joel was in an okay mood now, maybe he could have some fun. If Joel got pissy, Ray would deal with the consequences later.

 

Weirdly enough when Ray entered with his other birds, Joel didn’t seem to be shaken. As a matter of fact, he proved that he had listened to Ray once and was able to recognize who each person was by their wings and matching the bird to the person.

“That’s… Gavin, Michael, and Lindsay, right?” Joel asked before Ray could introduce them.

Ray’s hands floated in the air mid-gesture towards his friends. “Uh… yeah, that’s correct, actually.” Joel smiled smugly, proud of himself. “Yeah, there’re here to play some games, maybe watch a movie, okay?”

Joel said he didn’t mind by any means, and even sat on one of the stools as everyone else set up. Ray took the remaining stool and put it near the couch that the other three had perched themselves. Separating the three of them was a crime, and everyone knew it. Gavin sat in the middle cushion and while Lindsay took the left and Michael took the right. That’s how it always was. Ray handed each one of them a controller and they began their next few hours of screaming.

“Suck my massive dick!” Lindsay shouted at one point, her little red wings spreading and smacking Gavin in the face. Gavin flinched up while squawbling strange noises and spread his own wings out. Having the longest wingspan of the three, he took all three down with him as he fell off the couch. Ray was laughing so hard he drooled and curled off the stool and landed on the bird pile. Feathers scattered everywhere.

Ray looked up to see Joel heaving with laugher. His cheeks pulled up in a puffy smile, showing off his brilliant white teeth. His wings trembled, trying not to flap them as he was doubled over in laughter. For a moment Ray was breathless, caught up in how wonderful Joel appeared. The setting sun peeked through the window and shined off his glossy wings. For a moment, Joel looked like a glowing god. He was snapped out of it when Michael pushed Ray off of him, driving Ray’s face into the floor.

After a short recovery period, they decided it was time to watch a movie. After which, they’d call it a night. The sun set, leaving them in darkness with the exception of the blue glow of the television. The trio had set themselves upright and cuddled throughout the entire thing. More often than not, they’d have to tell Gavin to shut up, after pointing out some logical error. Joel and Ray had moved to the floor in front of the couch. Their wings folded against their spine to make sure the other three weren’t obstructed.

Ray could feel the warmth bleeding off of Joel. They were nearly touching arms. The only time Ray had ever been this close to Joel was when they were eating, and he couldn’t remember feeling how warm Joel was before. Every once in a while, Ray would sneak a glance at Joel, who seemed engrossed in the screen, as he always did when the tv was on. Ray wanted to believe it was because it was ‘shiny.’ But Ray couldn’t help but find interest in the way his eyes seemed to glow in the light.

Joel must have felt the stare, because he pulled himself away from screen, leaned in and whispered “You know, the movie is far more interesting than my face, I promise.”

Ray felt the blush reach his ears. He didn’t sneak another look at him.

When the movie reached its final twenty minutes, Ray heard Joel quietly rustling next to him. Movement in the corner of his eye made him look over to see Joel’s head hung forward. He had fallen asleep and his body was having issues trying to keep him upright. Eventually, Joel slid over, putting his weight on Ray. Even while sleeping his body was warm to the touch. Instead of pushing him off, Ray adjusted to the best he could to make Joel comfortable.

Ray ignored the noise that came out of Michael’s throat.

When the movie finished, they all shifted and stretched, except for Ray who was still trapped under a borderline snoring Joel. Even after a little prodding, the big raven didn’t budge. He was out cold, and for a moment, Ray didn’t mind because he liked that Joel could sleep so deeply when he could barely sleep at all before. With some assistance from Michael, they managed to lift Joel’s limp body and drag it to Ray’s bedroom. Michael suggested tossing him and letting his body bounce, and while Ray would have loved that, they still had to be mindful of his arm and wing. They pulled the covers and slipped Joel inside.

“You didn’t tell me you fell for the old bastard.” Michael suddenly said, adding a smug wing flap for emphasis.

Ray frowned, confused about what Michael meant. “I didn’t. What are you talking about?”

“Dude, c’mon!” Michael gestured to Joel’s head, “I saw you ogling him during the movie, and you totally let him sleep on you.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that. The man barely sleeps as it is, so why disturb what little sleep he actually gets?”

“Ooooooh, you give a shit. That’s a step up from before, when you were only doing it because Geoff told you to.”

Ray scoffed, “Well excuse me for being a patient creature and learning to like someone despite their glaring faults.”

Michael wiggled an eyebrow at him, and was about to say more when Gavin’s voice whined into the room. Gavin was like a baby bird in a full man’s body, often chirping for attention, and now was no different. He was tired and wanted to go ‘hoooooooome’. Michael flashed a smile toward Ray that showed how full of love he was for the two that remained in the living room. His eyes spoke volumes about how deeply he gave a shit about them. Ray often wondered what it would be like to love  _one person_ like that, and Michael was able to love two people equally.

The three of them said their goodbyes to Ray for the night and left, leaving Ray to crash on his sofa.

\--

The next day at work, Ray found himself in a lighter mood than usual. Work was going effortlessly, no one was being a jackass, and the sun was shining brightly through the window. He hummed to various current pop songs as he typed away at his computer, as the day went on. Everything seemed perfect until Sera, a cute white dove girl and front desk woman, popped her head into their office door.

“Ray, you’ve got a visitor.” She said.

Ray had barely a moment to ask who it was before he saw the mess of black hair peek above her head.

“Hey Ray.” Joel greeted with a wave.

Geoff glanced over his shoulder at Ray with a look that said ‘keep it quick.’ Ray nodded and turned his attention back to Joel. He stood from his chair and made a beeline for Joel. Grabbing the collar of Joel’s shirt, he pulled him to a deeper hallway where people like Michael wouldn’t overhear.

“What are you doing here?” Ray hissed.

Joel shrugged, obviously not finding him dropping in unannounced to be that big of deal. “I just went for a flight, and I thought that this would be a good place to land without overstressing anything. Why are you so mad?”

Why was he mad? Ray blinked a few times trying to understand his own feelings. He pulled his gaze away from Joel and scratched his head. “Uh… I guess it’s just… not normal. I don’t think I’m actually that mad. You aren’t distracting me from anything too important. Sorry.”

Joel beamed a smile and ruffled Ray’s hair, “don’t worry about it.”

For the next few minutes they shared a quiet conversation about how Joel’s flying went. Apparently he wasn’t struggling, but his stamina had been shot to hell. He probably wouldn’t have the energy to fly back for an hour or so, and if he wanted to get back to Ray’s place, it would be better for him to walk. Ray expressed that he was happy that Joel was able to fly decently at all. And as all conversations do, they drifted from important to non-important things like what they would have for dinner, or a tv show that Joel had watched earlier that morning.

Their conversation that carried on was interrupted by Geoff, who cleared his throat, alerting them to his presence. “Look, if he’s gonna stay here, I’m going to put him to work.”

Ray looked at Joel for a second and then back to Geoff. “You know what,” Ray said, “Go for it. He needs something to do anyway.”

Joel tried to protest, but was soon ushered away by Sera to do some menial task she hadn’t quite gotten to yet. Ray waved as Joel pouted while he was getting dragged away. Sera would put his ass to work, and Ray had to hold back the laughter. Geoff didn’t hold back though, and he laughed at Joel like he was an old friend.

 

Surprisingly enough, when Ray was done for the day, he found that Joel was sitting next to Sera learning how to do certain things on the computer, and showing her things in kind. Joel looked up to see Ray and beamed a smile like a good child that had been waiting for a parent.

“We good to go?” Joel asked.

Ray’s eyebrows furrowed together. “We?”

Joel nodded, “Yeah. ‘we’ because we’re going to the same place, why not go together?”

“Good point.” Ray chuckled and ushered Joel to get up so they could leave.

“We flying?” Joel asked once they exited the front door.

“Of course.”

What was normally a twenty minute walk was only five minutes when flying. The sky above them was clear and perfect for flying, and yet Joel still seemed apprehensive. He stepped forward and spread his wings to their full length, giving them a quick stretch. He moved them back and forth a few times to get a feel for them. Ray stood a few wing lengths back, watching the man get used to himself again. Something about watching Joel relearn how to fly took him back to his younger days when he learned to fly. How foreign a part of his own body felt when put to use, and how utilizing them was even stranger. Ray thought that Joel’s wingspan was beautiful, clearly trumping his own, and having a longer set of primaries. Before meeting Joel, he always thought this trait of Raven’s was laughable, too much to show off to go along with their egos, but for someone like Joel, it was exactly what he needed. It suited him, as all wings seem to suit people.

Joel looked over his shoulder to see if Ray was ready. After confirming it with a nod, he took a few running steps forward and took off. At first he dropped too hard and had to recover, but he managed without smashing back into the ground. Wavering a bit, it seemed he was having issues, but the wind eventually caught underneath his wings and he was sent skyward. Ray jumped after confirming Joel was okay and took to the sky. He trailed behind Joel and watched the Raven as he flew through the sky.

Joel might have gotten a rocky start, but once he got going there was no stopping him. He flew using little to know energy at all, finding currents to ride on like it was second nature. Before his accident, he could have easily been able to fly for hours without a break. It was clear the only reason he couldn’t fly as long after two months was only because of his age.

Ray flew up to meet Joel side by side. Joel dipped down and to the left, to which Ray followed. They started swooping back and forth, rocking in the air. The shadows of their wingspan chased along the tops of trees as if trying to keep up with them. Villagers down below looked up to see their aerial dance through the winds. Smiles were shared between the two as they dipped and dove and back up again to reach the clouds above. Ray wasn’t sure how, but it sure as hell happened. The two of them had connected by the whispers of the winds that spoke for them, guiding their actions.

In no time at all, the two of them landed in front of Ray’s house. Both of them covered in speckles of sweat from what was a truer workout than either of them had expected. They stared at each other for a few moments to realize what had happened before bursting out in laughter. They both collapsed on the ground side by side with their wings spread as wide as possible without being too far apart from one another.

“Why… why was that so much fun?” Joel said between intakes of air.

Ray wiped off some sweat beading on his forehead. “I don’t know. Hell, I’m still not even sure what happened.”

Joel let out a weezy laugh, “Oh god. Yeah. It was a short but fun flight. I haven’t had one of those in years, Ray. Years. I’m tired and could probably sleep for the next day and a half.”

A moment fell between them where the sun shone on their already warm skin. Neither of them seemed interested in moving, so the only thing they had to do was talk.

Joel took the moment to open up and confess, “You know, I really love the sky here. I love the air. I love how easy it is to just stretch out and fly. There isn’t a stupid amount of air traffic nor assholes that think they own parts of it. I don’t have to worry about accidentally wandering into a bird of prey’s territory and getting a knife in my back. There’s no pressure here.”

The news surprised Ray, “Is Castara really that bad?”

“All of the big cities are. I don’t think birds are supposed to live in communities that big. Too many feathers, too many assholes, not enough air.”  Joel sighed, “I’ve always lived in cities though, because anything smaller seemed like a step back.”

Ray fiddled with his lip before he followed with a question, “Is that why you were so angry the first month, beside the fact that you had to live with an ‘asshole crow’?”

Joel hesitated before answering. “Yeah. I’ve never met a crow that wasn’t a piece of shit, neurotic, or just straight up bat-shit. And I figured that you’d be no different.”

“Well, you were wrong.”

“Clearly.”

The conversation died, and the air was filled with nothing but the sound of the breeze rustling through the trees. Ray digested the information Joel gave him about his life. Never having been inside those big cities Joel mentioned, he could never truly understand, but he had previously lived in a town that felt overcrowded, so he had some sense of sympathy.

A flash of gold took Ray out of his thoughts. Joel had lifted up the locket that Ray hadn’t seen since they day they cleaned house.

“You should know that sometimes you don’t have life figured out like you think you do. Sometimes there’s a hole inside you that you didn’t know you had until all the artificial business you tried to stuff in there fell out.”

Ray sat up, concerned. “Joel?”

Joel’s gaze sat on the locket that was spinning in his fingers. “But it’s also interesting how when you recognize the hole being there, how easy it is to find something real to fill it with. Sure, you might have to cut out some old vines that grew in place, but what you find instead a lot prettier aesthetically. And metaphorically.” He craned his neck and gave Ray a smile that told him not to worry about his old man rambling.

Joel finally picked himself off the ground and helped Ray up as well. Ray was confused for the rest of the night as Joel acted like he didn’t dump some large metaphorical bomb on him.

While they were eating dinner, Joel had a question.

“Hey, you wanna sleep in your bed tonight?”

Ray stopped with a fork full of spaghetti in his mouth, “Muh?”

“Your bed. You can sleep in it tonight.”

“No.” Ray was quick to respond, “No. Don’t worry about it I’m fine on the couch.”

“Nah, take your bed.”

“No. While you’re here, it’s your bed. I can’t imagine you sleeping well on my couch anyway.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“You don’t worry about it, Joel.”

Joel rubbed at his forehead, “Okay… so, how about we share your bigass bed then? We’d have plenty of room considering how massive the thing is.”

As much as Ray wanted to argue, he felt like Joel wasn’t going to let him say no again. With a sigh he let out a drawn out “fiiiinnnne.”

They cleaned up dishes, watched a movie and got ready for bed. Ray’s room felt strange to him, there to sleep in the bed that would smell like Joel. Not to mention he’d be sleeping next to someone in the same bed, and he hadn’t done that since he was a tyke at a sleepover. Joel didn’t seem nervous about the idea. Hell, he probably had  _slept_  with people before, and sleeping in the same bed as someone else wasn’t a big deal at all. Joel folded his wings against his spine and slid into the sheets. A quick thought occurred to Ray that the weirdest thing was that they were going to bed at the same time when they could have very well gone to bed at their own time. Had Joel planned this? Ray waved the stupid thought away as he slid into his side of the bed.

As weird as he expected it to be, he didn’t feel uncomfortable by any means. There wasn’t any awkward pillow talk, nothing about mentioning their situation, nothing at all. Just two people trying to sleep in the company of another. Joel clearly was comfortable for Ray soon heard his breathing even out and his body fell into rhythmic ups and downs. Listening to Joel’s breathing shepherded Ray into his own dreamworld.

\--

“So, when is Joel leaving?” Geoff asked a few days later. “Soon, right? He’s all healed up and can fly pretty well from the looks of it. He should be leaving soon.”

The question hit Ray like a punch to the face. He honestly hadn’t thought about the idea of Joel leaving, and Geoff was right. Joel was perfectly fine now, and should have probably left already. Why hadn’t he left yet? That thought alone set Ray’s heart running in a panic. Why why why. Why was Joel still around? What was he waiting for? Did he have a reason to stay? Did he fall for a neighbor?

Ray didn’t know why he was so upset, but he was.

He didn’t even answer Geoff, instead he left in a rush, trailing loose feathers behind him. Shoving the front door open and stumbling, he spread his wings and jumped, failing the first time and landing arms first in the dirt. Without hesitation he picked himself up again and jumped, this time getting air. He barely passed the treeline and clipped his wings against a few branches. Only wincing at the pain he pushed up and forward. The green below him blurred as he sped to his home. In a record-breaking two minutes he landed with a crash into the ground in front of his door.

Joel must have heard the nose because he practically ripped the door off its handles, expecting the worst to greet him on the other side.

“Ray?!? What’s wrong? Why are you here?”

Ray picked himself off the ground. “No. Why are  _you_  still here?

Joel’s face dropped, “Ray… what? Do you think I’ve been sneaking out or something?”

“No. No.” Ray clenched his fists, squeezing so hard in anger that his knuckles turned white, “That’s not it. You’re fine now, aren’t you? You can fly now, right? What do you need to be here for?”

Joel looked around as if trying to find witness to the reality of the situation. “Ray… I don’t understand what problem is… do you want me to leave?”

Ray couldn’t look at him. “You’re going to leave anyway, aren’t you? Why don’t you leave now?”

“Ray, I don’t understand. At all I—“

“Leave!” Ray screamed, slamming his eyes shut.

He didn’t hear Joel trying to argue. All he felt was the air as Joel did exactly what Ray wanted to. The sound of his wings was loud at first and faded in the distance, yet even as it grew quieter it was beating loudly in Ray’s ears. Ray slammed to the ground on his knees, and punched the ground multiple times.

This was why he didn’t think about Joel leaving. This was why he pushed the thought out of his mind for so long.

It hurt.

It felt like his heart was going to burst, and he didn’t know why.

\--

Michael was surprised to see a Raven sitting outside his home when the three of them returned from work. Maybe not completely surprised, after the hurry Ray had left in earlier, but he was expecting Ray, not Joel to be outside his home. Joel was curled up in himself, waiting patiently, and only looked up when he heard Michael call out to him.

“Joel… what are you doing here?”  Michael asked cautiously.

The corner of Joel’s lip turned up. “Ray kicked me out.”

Michael pulled at the skin of his face. “Jesus Christ. That kid did the opposite of what he should have.”

“He’s a dumb crow, isn’t he? Far from clever.” Joel’s laugh was hollow. “That said… would you guys mind if I stayed at your place until Ray lets me come back home.”

Michael grabbed onto Joel’s last word. ‘Home.’ So Joel considered it his home. 

“Yeah. Of course.”

\--

The darkness of his bedroom was the only thing Ray knew of the past two days. He didn’t leave for anything clinging to his sheets, trying to make sense of the swirling pit inside himself. No hunger, no thirst, nothing seemed to drag him out of the binds that kept him in his room. The light of his phone had gone off numerous times, and not a single one did he find the energy to answer it. He was desperate for answers he was sure he could only find in his cave.

Why had he gotten so mad at Joel?

Why did he tell him to leave?

Why was he so far from okay?

His phone lit up again. Lifting his neck, he saw that it was Michael calling for 12th time. And for the 12th time he let it ring until he was hugged by darkness once again.

He was tired and his limbs hurt. His wings ached to be used, but he couldn’t move. Still as stone.

There was a knock at the door. How long had it been since the last phone call? Who was at the door? Time blurred into a weird mess and like everything else, Ray couldn’t make sense of it.

He heard the door open with a suction of air.

“Ray! Get up!” Michael’s scratchy voice bellered. Heavy footsteps trudged through the home, growing louder as they reached the door to his room. Without an ounce of caution, the door flew open, casting laser beam brightness on Ray, who only reacted by squeezing his blankets even tighter.

“Jesus Christ you look like shit.” Michael commented. “C’mon loser, get out of bed, we’re gonna be friends and talk about feelings.”

There was something attractive about Michael’s words, even if they were a command, that got him to move his ass out of his bed. Sluggish and weak, Ray dragged his feet into the kitchen without a word. Michael told him to wash his face and maybe consider putting clothes on. Donuts were on the counter for Ray to slowly munch on as he realized how starved he actually was. Even after that, he still looked gross with his wings all ruffled and hair unkept, but Michael figured it was good enough.

“C’mon, we’re going to go on a short flight to get your wings working, okay?”

Ray nodded and followed the other out the door. Taking to the air, their flight was slow, but clearly because any faster and Ray would have probably dive-bombed. The clearing Michael wanted to go to wasn’t far away at all. The landed, Michael gracefully, Ray nearly landed on his face.

Michael picked him up and brushed him off, “Jesus Christ, Shinji Ikari, first day piloting?”

Ray wanted to say that he’s always been one, but the words didn’t come out.

“Okay, we’re far away from everyone, tell me what’s up?”

Ray met Michael’s gaze. “Why did we have to go all the way out here to talk?”

Michael waved him off, “Don’t worry about it. Just tell me why you locked yourself away like a depressed teenager.”

Ray’s eyes lit up with a strange sense of life. “Joel’s gone.”

“Really?” Michael frowned, “Why?”

“I…” Ray’s throat seized up, “I told him to.”

Michael paused, confusion painted all over his face, “Whhhhy? Why did you do that?”

 “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know.”

“I don’t know.”

“Bullshit.”

Michael was right, Ray did know. But he didn’t want to admit it. The realization came into words, and he said them slowly. “I wanted him to leave… before I got too attached.”

“That worked out well for ya, didn’t it?”

Ray blinked, “What?”

“You can’t tell me you just spent two days in your own home telling me you told yourself over and over again that you weren’t attached to him.”

  Again, Michael was right, and Ray was realizing it. He had grown attached, so used to Joel in his life in a matter of months. Somehow the old raven had slotted himself so perfectly in Ray’s life it seemed seamless. The dam of emotions broke when he realized that Ray had loved Joel, and not just a straight up romantic way. Joel was a partner, and growing rapidly as a friend. Joel was comfort, a smile to come home to, someone that was proving himself every day to be someone Ray could rely on.

Ray started wiping at salty tears he didn’t know had started falling. “I… wanted to tell him to stay. That he didn’t have to leave.”

“Go on.” Michael prompted.

The feelings kept surging forth, making Ray’s words fall out uncontrolled, “I told him to leave because I thought it would hurt less than the day he would tell me he was going to. I thought that maybe I was saving myself, but I wasn’t. I couldn’t tell him to stay because there was that miniscule chance he’d say no. And dear god, when he actually left, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know why he listened, I didn’t know that he took my heart too. What I do know now… is that I want him back!” Ray screamed into the open air, a plea for everything to be better again.

“Does that mean you’ll let me in the house again?” Joel’s voice came from behind him.

Ray spun on a needlepoint. His legs ran to Joel and he tackled him for all Ray’s frame could give. Their bodies collided in skin and feathers. Michael was laughing at their tight embrace, but they didn’t care. Ray pulled back but Joel still had a firm grasp around his back.

“I… I thought you were gone!” Ray gasped.

“I’m not. Clearly.” Joel joked, pulling him in for another hug. “And I’m not going to leave, because that your home is my home. I can live without the city, I don’t think I can live without you.”

“Stupid Raven.”

“Stupid Crow. Thanks for putting me back together, in more ways than one.”


End file.
